| The Gallipolis Blue Devils got off to a good start Friday night, but by the end of the evening, the opening quarter was forgotten. The Ironton Fighting Tigers piled up a total of 420 yards on the ground with Gabriel Lewis rambling for 149, and rolled to a 42-20 SEOAL victory over Gallipolis Friday night at Tanks Memorial Stadium. Tim Hodges, the Tigers designated scorer, added 94 yards for Ironton and scored four touchdowns to lift the SEOAL co-leaders to their 7th victory of the season. Both Ironton and Jackson are 5-0 in league play, setting the stage for next weeks showdown in Ironton. The Blue Devils began the first drive of the night from their own 37. In four plays, they moved to the Ironton 45. Quarterback Greg Harrington took the snap, rolled left, and pitched out to senior halfback Mark Sheets, who galloped down the sideline into the endzone. Scott Morrison's conversion gave Gallipolis a stunning 7-0 lead. Ironton, shaking off the rough start, took control at their own 29 and began a methodical 12 play drive for the score, with Hodges going in from two yards out with 5:15 remaining. Joe Fletcher added the extra point making it 7-7. Lightening then struck Bill Trent's Blue Devils on their next possession. After being unable to move the ball, Harrington punted to Ironton's Steve Sutton, who took the ball at his own 43, bobbled it, then proceeded to ramble through the Gallipolis players. With the aid of a crushing block from Fletcher on Harrington at about the 10, Sutton scooted into the endzone to give the Tigers the lead for good. The Fighting Tigers took a 28-7 halftime lead with a pair of 2nd quarter touchdowns, a 2 yard run by Hodges, and a 29 yard scamper by Brent Wilcoxen. Gabriel Lewis got into the limelight on the first drive of the 3rd period, taking a handoff from Wilcoxen, and dashing 57 yards for the TD at the 10:47 mark. Fletcher's kick made it 35-7, but Gallipolis wasn't done. Starting from their own 21, the Blue Devils, with Harrington completing a pair of passes to senior tight end Greg Eustler, moved the ball to the Ironton 9, where Harrington fired a scoring strike to Mike Hemphill to make it 35-14 with 5:31 left in the 3rd period. Late in the 3rd period, it appeared as if Lewis had racked up another long TD run, as he scampered in from 52 yards out but an illegal procedure penalty nullified the play. Ironton was forced to punt, and the quarter ended with Gallipolis in possession at the Tiger 41. With a 4th and 5 at the Ironton 26, Steve Sutton stopped the Blue Devil threat by downing Sheets for no gain on a pass from Harrington. Ironton then took the ball and drove 74 yards for another score, with Hodges going over from 7 yards out. Fletcher's kick made it 42-14 with 7:26 left in the game. A 26 yard run by Sheets set up the final Gallipolis score, a 30 yard pass from Harrington to flanker Nick Robinson, which closed out the scoring with Ironton on top, 42-20. Harrington completed 11 of 15 passes on the night, good for 143 yards and the Blue Devils gained another 227 yards on the ground. Sheets carried the ball just 7 times, but picked up 98 yards to lead the way. The Tigers did it on the ground, picking up 21 first downs. Wilcoxen threw only twice, completing one for five yards. He also added 73 yards rushing while Terry Royal chipped in 74. |
| Fighting Tigers Roll Past Gallipolis by Tom Clutters Ironton Tribune |
| Tim Hodges: Gabriel Lewis had been hurt on and off all season and was finally able to get a lot of play on offense. He made two beautiful runs that night, but one was called back. I went in motion, nullifying his second big run. I felt terrible and remember standing there watching Gabriel weave his way into the endzone with the referee's flag laying at my feet. I caught more hell from Lutz for standing there than I did for the penalty |